Credit unions represent roughly a quarter of recipients in the latest round of Community Development Financial Institution grants from the Treasury Department, with 111 credit unions receiving funding out of a total of 397 organizations.
More than $204 million in awards were issued through the CDFI program and the Native American CDFI Assistance program, according to the Treasury, which help those institutions boost lending and investment for low-income communities across the country. About $45.8 million from this round of funding was awarded to credit unions.
Cathie Mahon, president and CEO of Inclusiv, a trade group for community development credit unions, said in a press release: "We are delighted that this round recognizes the contributions of CDFI credit unions of all sizes in serving underserved communities. Inclusiv is pleased to have worked with so many credit unions to access the Fund and the work is truly paying off. The number of minority designated credit unions and first-time award winners is a game changer.”
Fifty-five credit unions — 13 of which were first-time awardees — received the Financial Assistance Award, including $2.75 million in funding for Self-Help Federal Credit Union in Durham, N.C., through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative Financial Assistance Award.
Fifty-three credit unions — 28 new awardees — received grants for technical assistance. Organizations receiving those funds were generally granted between $120,000 and $125,000. More than 125 Technical Assistance Awards were given, totaling $15.8 million.
A total of $1.4 milion went to a trio of institutions for the Native American CDFI Assistance Program.
Credit union groups continue to push lawmakers to increase the pool of funding available to CDFIs, and despite some attempts to reduce the pool of money available, lawmakers continue to fund the popular program. According to Inclusiv, pending legislation could add $2.9 billion to $5 billion in additional funds.
